Jan 3, 2013

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia might soon cease to be one of the leading vendors on the market, should the latest predictions regarding its future pan out.

According to Forbes’ Tristan Louis, the company might be en route to sell its mobile devices division entirely. Undoubtedly, the company has had some rough quarters, but it has shown signs of growth lately, fueled by its recently launched Windows Phone 8 devices. The new smartphones were expected to turn the tide in Nokia’s favor, and allow it once again become the leader in mobile technology that it once was. However, Forbes’ Tristan Louis believes otherwise, suggesting that the company will actually depart completely from the mobile phone business before the end of this year. He suggests that the company will sell the mobile operation and infrastructure divisions to Chinese maker Huawei, and that the smartphone group will go to Microsoft in the end.

“The biggest shocker (and what I suspect will be my most controversial prediction), though, will be the departure of Nokia from the phone business as the company sells its mobile operation and infrastructure divisions to Huawei in order to focus on software and services,” Tristan Louis notes. “With the company’s bet on Windows 8 having failed in the marketplace, it will see Microsoft and Huawei competing for the mobile device division and will eventually sell its smartphone group to Microsoft and the rest of its telecom interests to Huawei.” Apparently, Nokia is facing fierce competition in all market segments, with companies such as Huawei and ZTE leaving it behind at the low end, and with Samsung and Apple leading the high-end smartphone market.

Thus, the company might have a harder-than-believed time regaining the lost ground, something that will eventually determine it to leave the mobile phone business altogether. However, this is only a supposition for the time being, and it remains to be seen whether it will indeed pan out or not.